These are the sermons that I preach each week. And some other things, too.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Disbelieving Thomas

Today, we're going to look at one of the more familiar
stories that John included in his Gospel. We're going to look at 'doubting
Thomas', though as I will show you, that's actually not what he should be
called. First, let me read what John wrote to refresh your memory (John20.24-31).

John's account is pretty straightforward. Thomas wasn't with
the others when Jesus appeared to them on the evening of that first Easter. And
when they told him that they had seen the Lord, he didn't believe them. He
demanded tangible proof. So, a week later Jesus shows up again. And along with
offering him tangible proof, Jesus gently rebukes Thomas.

Put your finger here, and see my
hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but
believe.

I think that it's important for you to understand that if
Jesus renamed this disciple, like He did Peter, his new name would not be 'doubting
Thomas'. It would be 'disbelieving Thomas'. His failure here was not just a
little slip up. 'Oh well, we all have our doubts at times.' No. Jesus expected
something of him and it wasn't disbelief. Disbelief is sin. Jesus expected
Thomas to believe, and he didn't, at least not at first. And that earned him a
rebuke.

Now, in all of this we've bumped into one of those church
words that hides so much: 'believe'. What does it mean to believe? There are
two aspects to believing that I want you to see. So that's what I'm going to be
spending our time on this morning.

Here's the first aspect I'd like you to see. To believe is
to accept some statement as true and accurate. So, you hear from someone just
in from an errand that it's snowy and cold outside. You have no trouble
accepting that as true and accurate, especially lately. But consider when a
long time couch potato friend tells you that he ran the Boston Marathon last
year and finished it in good time. You don't believe him. You don't accept that
statement as true and accurate.

Now, you have reasons why you don't. To believe one thing
will often necessarily include believing other things. So, to believe that your
couch potato friend successfully ran the Boston Marathon, all 26 plus miles,
you would have to also believe that he actually can run. You've never seen him
do that, even when he's been caught outside by the sudden downpour of a summer
thunderstorm. You'd also have to believe that he has the discipline to fulfill
the rigorous training that's required to run a marathon. Again, you've never
seen any evidence of that. All he does is play video games. To believe one
thing is to believe all the other things that are included. And when it comes
to marathons, you can't believe the things that need to be included - not for
this out of shape friend.

So, Jesus expected Thomas to accept as true and accurate the
report of the other disciples that He had been raised from the dead. And He
expected Thomas to believe all the other things that are also included. So,
what does believing that Jesus has been raised include? Here's just one item.
Jesus can do the impossible.

If, on that Friday afternoon someone told Thomas not to
worry because Jesus was going to be alive again by Sunday, I'm sure that Thomas
would have looked at him as if he had lost his mind. That would mean that death
is not as invincible as it had been rumored. After all, once death grabs a hold
of you, what can you do? You're done. Everybody knows that. Everybody accepts
that as true and accurate. Right? So, for someone to believe that Jesus walked
out of that tomb, he would have to believe that Jesus had somehow undone what
death had done. And that would mean that its grip isn't what they say that it
is. But such things don't happen. It's impossible.

But that's exactly what Jesus expected Thomas to believe. He
was to believe what the other disciples told him. Jesus is alive. He was to
accept that as true and accurate. And he was to believe all that was included
in that, things like Jesus can do the impossible. It was asking a lot. We need
to recognize that. But that's what Jesus expected. Anything less than that is,
according to Jesus, disbelief. And that is unacceptable.

But it’s also important to see that believing is more than
to simply accept something as true and accurate. Here's the second aspect of
believing. If you actually do believe something then it will show in how you
live. If it doesn’t show, then you don’t believe it, not really. So, if you
believe that it's completely safe to drive across a bridge, you'll drive on it.
But there are those who will tell you that they know that a certain bridge is
safe, but when it comes time to drive to the other side, they will take the
long way around to avoid that bridge. It’s a phobia with a fancy term. What
does that tell you? It tells you that in the moment when it counts, they really
don't believe that the bridge is safe. How they live in that moment tells you
what they really do believe right then. So, to believe something is to live it.
Saying that you believe some statement but refusing to live as if it is true
and accurate also qualifies for Jesus' rebuke. Disbelief.

So, accepting as true and accurate the things of the Gospel,
things like Jesus has been raised to life, includes living like those things
are true and accurate. Jesus expected that of Thomas also. And in time his life
would show that he really did believe.

This is where that last sentence of chapter 20 fits. Listen
again.

Now Jesus did many other signs in
the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these
are written so that you may believe...

Jesus expects you to believe just as He expected Thomas to
believe. There are statements that you are supposed to accept as true and
accurate. And you are supposed to live like those statements, and all that they
include, are true. Just like Thomas.

So, you are to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead.
But remember that that includes some other things, things like Jesus can do
impossible. Can He? I think that this is where, according to some, I'm supposed
to say something about how Jesus used to do impossible things, but He doesn't
do that anymore. But I'm not going to say that. Instead I'm going to offer
something from the letter that James wrote to a churchful of Christians.

You do not have, because you do not
ask.

Is it possible that Jesus could still do the impossible?
Well, one way to find out is to ask Him to do something impossible. We have
been called by Jesus to change the world. That will never happen if all we
expect is the same old, same old. It will take more than human ingenuity and
effort to change this place. At the heart of our religion is Jesus doing
something that no one expected - though they should have. He did what was
thought to be impossible. Has He stopped doing that sort of thing? Has He
stopped doing the impossible? I don't see any reason to think that He has. So,
if we're going to say that we believe that Jesus is raised again to life then
maybe we should be expecting Him to do some more 'impossible' things.

Believing that Jesus has been raised again includes
believing that He does impossible things. And out of that believing will come
things like optimism, confidence and hope. And for the Church at large, as well
as for our church in particular, having those qualities will have great benefit
when it comes to changing the world from the ugly place that it is, filled with
unbelief, to a place of beauty filled with faithful disciples of Jesus.
Expecting Jesus to act in surprising and powerful ways, and knowing that not
even death can beat us, will make a huge difference in how the Church deals
with the mission placed on her.

So, if I now ask you, 'Do you believe that Jesus was raised
from the dead?', considering all that is included in that and what that means
when it comes to how you live, what would you say? I think that for at least
some of us, if not more, the honest answer is, 'I believe; help my unbelief.'
And as I've told you before, Jesus will act in kindness in response to that
answer. Remember, He rescued the son of the man who first said those words.
However, don't leave it there. Fine, you can see problem areas in your
believing, and you're honest about it. Okay. And it's good to know that Jesus
is patient with that. But bear in mind what He said to Thomas and today says to
you.

Do not disbelieve, but believe.

We have work to do so that we will obey that command. And
that gets to the goal of this sermon. I'd like you to take a look at your
believing, your faith. I'd like you to be a little dissatisfied with it. I
don't want anyone to get all depressed. But I think it would be good to get a
sense of where you are in your believing so that you would see that it needs some
work. There is something to be said for contentment. It really is important.
It's an indication of the health of someone's soul if he is content with what
Jesus is doing with his life. But we should never be content with our sin. And
disbelief is sin. So, I'd like to see some discontent so that you would be moved
to do the work of developing your believing.

The place where that discontent will first show is in your
prayers. Some of what you need to be praying for is to believe that Jesus still
does impossible things. After all, He has been raised from the dead. But maybe
even before that, what you need to be praying for is that Jesus would make you
less satisfied, less content, with the state of your belief. And that He would
do that so that you would be moved to do the hard work of improving it.

So, I’m hoping for two things to motivate you in this. On
the one hand, I’m banking on your hatred of sin and your desire to rid yourself
of it, in this case the sin of disbelief. But there is also the other side of
the coin: the excitement of being able to see Jesus do impossible things,
amazing things. We have not yet seen Him do the mighty works that He can do
among us. I see no reason why that should remain the case.